Does the AiG Website Discriminate Against Atheists?

It’s remarkable to what lengths some secularists will go in order to create bizarre conspiracies out of nothing!

AiG must have a very secret computer room—so secret that even I don’t know about it. In this room, sophisticated computer programmers have somehow managed to figure out a way for the AiG website to sense whether a person online is an atheist or creationist. Yes, when an atheist is cleverly detected by this remarkable technological breakthrough, they are immediately flagged, and they can be stopped from going any further into our website. Apparently, this advanced technology was applied for the first time yesterday, when several hundred tickets to the Creation Museum debate between Bill Nye and me on February 4 went on sale (and sold out in two minutes). Our advanced technology locked atheists out of purchasing tickets so that only creationists could attend the debate next month!

Of course, the kind of technology above is, as we say in Australia, a load of nonsense! But it seems there are atheists who must believe we have a computer program in place that can somehow detect secularists and block them out. We just had to shake our heads when we read many comments on atheist blogs about the tickets to the debate being sold out in 120 seconds! By the way, a few days earlier the AiG website crashed after receiving a record number of visitors in one day (last week after announcing the Bill Nye debate), and our web team had to work feverishly to ensure that much more web traffic could flow smoothly to our site. The AiG website can now handle even more traffic—and more advanced technical changes are on the way.

Some evolutionists who couldn’t get tickets within that two-minute window stated that the museum was actually trying to pack the auditorium with its supporters. One secularist declared that we supposedly want “to keep science people and other trouble-makers out, so that the audience will be all drooling creationists.”

Well, the online registration for debate tickets was open to everyone. There was no way our software could detect a creationist from an evolutionist! Here is an irony: one of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that secularists have often attacked AiG by claiming we don’t do proper scientific research. Yet these same people will make ignorant statements against us in an attempt to undermine our integrity—without thinking through their logic or doing any research!

Non-Christians Are Welcome

Not only that, but with our debate we want to reach out to non-Christians with the message of the truth of God’s Word and the gospel. I don’t want to speak only “to the choir,” and I want secularists to attend the debate and visit our museum. This event is an outreach of the Creation Museum.

With our debate we want to reach out to non-Christians with the message of the truth of God’s Word and the gospel.

There has also been criticism that we made it our policy to ask for a photo ID when people will pick up their purchased debate tickets at the museum, as if we will be screening out evolutionists at that time. Of course, that’s nonsense as well. It’s almost as if these critics believe that photo IDs—like a driver’s license—have a “C” on them to designate the person as a creationist, or an “E” for evolutionist! Furthermore, when people pick up their tickets, we are not going to ask them what their view of evolution is.

Why an ID? It’s to help avoid the scenario of people buying debate tickets and scalping them for a big profit. Thus we are insisting that the purchaser himself or herself will be using the tickets. Therefore, when tickets are picked up, the photo ID can be validated against our registration list. That’s all it is. Not long after the tickets went on sale, someone offered debate tickets for sale on craigslist.org for $500 each. Now you know why we are insisting on IDs to pick up the tickets.

It’s remarkable to what lengths some secularists will go in order to create bizarre conspiracies out of nothing! Again, we want secularists to attend the debate, as long as they are not disruptive in any way, or to watch the debate online via live streaming.

One of the secularists also commented, “I just hope that Nye brings his own camera crew so there will be a COMPLETE version of the debate available, not just the ‘creatively edited’ version that Ham will undoubtedly produce.” This person did not ask us about the videoing arrangements but simply made an uninformed and emotional false statement to attack us! The agreement with Mr. Nye is that the finished DVD of the debate will not delete any of the comments made by Mr. Nye and me.

Actually, a number of secularists stated that they were able to buy tickets! We do not know the makeup of the audience. We suspect it will be a good mixture of supporters of AiG and those of Bill Nye.

Watch the Debate via Live Stream

Comments About the Live Streaming of the Debate

“5 bucks is not unreasonable at all.”

“I am all for you making money off this event ... it can fund the Ark project! Can't wait to get my DVD.”

[In countering a critic who said that the live streaming should be free:] “So you all are against fundraising? How else do you propose they raise their necessary operating funds? I think this is a GREAT fundraiser, and apparently so do a lot of others if tickets sold out in 2 minutes!”

“There are costs involved in doing anything like this of this magnitude. I am thankful to AiG for standing for truth and don't begrudge them making a bit of $ that they will surely use for good!”

Many people have asked if the debate will be streamed live online. Yes, it will. Because of the enormous interest in the debate, we are working with our tech people and outside contractors to ensure we have the necessary equipment and ability to live stream to large numbers of people. For many reasons, this service is quite costly. (In fact, even without the live streaming, there are considerable costs in putting this debate together.) For cost reasons and a number of other factors, we are charging a nominal fee for live web streaming—and you can put that amount toward the purchase of the DVD set when it comes out after the debate.

To find out information about the live web streaming of the debate, and to preorder your debate DVD, visit AnswersLive.org.

We are looking forward to what is being called a “historic debate” by many observers. Our motive in holding the debate is to honor God’s Word and ultimately see people challenged with the saving gospel message.

Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed; let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You. (Psalms 31:17–19)

Watching the Nye/Ham Debate Live—An Update

Because of the huge media interest in the Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate at the Creation Museum on February 4 (seats sold out in two minutes online), as well as the general buzz that has been generated nationwide about the event, the live streaming option is being put on hold as we are looking into other exciting opportunities for people to watch the debate live. Ultimately, these other possible options would allow even more people to view this historic debate.

More information will come later on how to watch the debate. Meanwhile, if you signed up for the live streaming, we thank you for your interest and please know that you will be contacted once the final arrangements have been made. (Of course, if we opt out of a streaming version, you will get a refund.)

With the debate selling out, we are committed to the very best ways by which as many people as possible can also watch the debate live.

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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.